Mail holder



Oct. 20, 1931. KELEHER 1,828,417

MA I L HOLDER Original Fi l J n 5, 1929 iwucmtoz MT 4?. KeZehea PatentedOct. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PA EN OFFICE MICHAEL RAYMOND KELEHER, 0FNORFOLKLNEBRASKA, ASSIG-NOR TO EMMA- KELEI-IER, OF NORFOLK, NEBRASKAMAIL HOLDER Application filed June 5, 1929, Serial No. 368,657. Renewed.March 12, 1931.

This invention relates to a mail holding device and more particularly toa device of this character adapted to be mounted outside a residence orother building and serve to hold magazines, letter and other matterdellvered by a letter carrier.

One object of the invention is to provlde a mail holder which maysecurely hold letters or magazinesjand the like and may not only firmlyhold the same but accommodate itself to the size thereof. 1

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the necessity ofthrusting letters and the like through a passage into a box withresulting likelihood of the letters becoming torn and to also allow themail to be easily removed from the holder without it being necessary torelease a door or similar closure.

Another object of the invention is to so form the improved mail holderthat letters and magazines can be easily thrust mto the same or removedtherefrom without danger of injuring the hands.

Another object of the invention 1s to provide a device of this characterwhich is simple in construction and not liable to need repairs.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: I

Figure 1 is a perspective v1ew of the 1mproved mail holder.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the 1mproved mail holder.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the mail holder, taken onthe line 3-3 of Figure 2. V This improved mail holder consists chleflyof a back plate 1 and jaws 2 and 3 WlllCl'l are pivotally connected withthe back plate and normally urged toward the same by springs 4 and 5. l

The back plate 1 consists of a sheet of metal of suflicient thickness toimpart the desired rigidity thereto and this sheet or plate, is formedwith openings through which screws or equivalent fasteners 6 are passed,the heads of the screws being preferably countersunk so that there willbe no dan er of a persons hands catching against the eads of the screwswhen delivering or removing mail matter from the holder.

The lower end portion of the back plate or sheet 1 is benttoextend'forwardly, as shown at 7, and along its lower edge the backplate is cut to define tongues rolled to form hinge ears 8. The jaws 2and 3 are also formed of sheet metal having their lower end portionsbent to extend inwardly, as shown in Figure 3, and having their upperorfree end portions bent to formlips 9 and 10 which are rolled outwardly,as shown in Figure 3, so that" magazines and letters can be easilyinserted, as shown in Figure 1. The lower ends of the jaws are formedwith tongues rolled to provide hinge ears 11 and 12 andthrough the hingeears of the back plate and the two jaws is passed a pivot rod or pin 13.Therefore, the jaws will be hingedly connected with the back plate andmay have swinging movement toward and away from the same. It should alsobe noted that, the two jaws may be moved independently of each otherand, therefore, the aw 3 may have pivotal movement relative to the; jaw2. The springs Land 5 which urge the jaws toward the back plate are eachof U- shape formation and these springs are disposed in straddlingrelation to the lower end portions of the jaws and back plate withtheirarms extending upwardly and secured against the back plate and jaws byrivets or equivalent fasteners 14, the heads of which are preferablycountersunk so that there will be no danger of a person catching thehands agalnst the rivet heads when delivering or removing mail.

When the improved mail holder is in use it is disposed in an uprightposition against a sultable support such as a porch post or the front ofa building where it is secured by thescrews or equivalent fasteners 6.The springs 4 and 5 normally hold the jaw 3 agalnst the jaw 2 and theupper ends of the aw 2 against the back plate but these jaws may beswung outwardly so that a magazine 15 may be slid into place between theback plate and the jaw 2 and aletter 16 slid into place between the jaws2 and 3. It will be obvious that more than one magazine or letter may beplaced in they holder at one time and it will also be understood thatunusually large or thick letters may be placed inrthe magazine holdingportion of the device. After the letters and magazines have been thrustinto place the springs will urge the two jaws toward their originalpositions and the letters and magazines will be firmly gripped but theymay be easily drawn outwardly when it is desired to remove them. In viewof the fact that the two jaws have rolled upper ends there will be nodanger. of tearing the mail either when; delivering it. or while it isheld in the holder or being removed therefrom.

What is claimed is:

1. A holder of the character specified comprising a back plate havingits lower end curved forwardly, other plates disposed one in front ofthe other and having their lower ends curved toward the back plate andin- V dependently hinged to the forwardly curved lower end thereof, andsprings exterior 50 the hinge joint between the plates and independentlyconnecting the outer plates to the back plate.

2. A holder of the character specified comprising a back plate havingits lower end curved forwardly and terminating in hinge elements, otherplates disposed one in front of the other andhaving their lower endscurved toward the back plate and terminating in hinge elements, a rodpassing through the hinge elements and pivotally connecting the severalplates, and U-shaped springs spanning the hinge joint between the platesand independently connecting the outer plates to the back plate andpermanently at tached to the respective plates.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

MICHAEL R. KELEHER. [n s.]

